The chief of U.S. naval operations, Adm. Daryl Caudle, has called it a “natural expectation” that any future South Korean nuclear-powered submarine would be used to counter China.
 
Caudle made the remark Friday when asked about that possibility during a group media interview in Seoul.

The admiral said the United States would expect to work with its ally to meet their combined goals on China, which he described as a threat.
 
He added that South Korea shares some of his country’s concerns about China, and so that capability should be part of the equation.
 
Caudle emphasized that the way South Korea uses its sovereign submarines to serve its own national interests is not something the U.S. would seek to intervene in or restrict, but added that it is feasible for South Korea to operate a nuclear-powered submarine in its waters and for U.S. forces to operate alongside it.